Valhalla (#96)

Big Finish Main Range

Wow. Just consistently good, Mr. Platt! Loups-Garoux and Spare Parts were his other two, both excellent and Spare Parts is one of the quintessential Big Finish audios! It’s a classic
indeed. So just add this one to his body of works. It’s a classic
adventure with (**spoiler alert!) the Doctor turning into a big old, 6
foot bug. Wowzers! Go-go gadget body! (spoiler over**) No companion
and no real way to manipulate things AND an actual explanation of what
led the Doctor to Valhalla in the first place? How very odd. It’s
almost a 6th Doctor adventure in the 7th Doctor’s guise. He almost gets
another companion but no.

Interesting how people choose not to go with the Doctor these days.
From Donna on the TV show to now Jevvan in the audios. I like their
reasoning, too—not wanting to be caught up in the Doctor’s world and go
from danger point to danger point, really. It must exhaust a person,
despite the fun and quiet stuff in between. We just never get to hear
about those things. They’re mentioned in passing but they’re not
something to capture our attention, ultimately.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot I can say about this one without
giving everything away. The Doctor wanders about with his usual flare
for getting in trouble as things begin to go amock on this planet. And
there you have it. There are no odd inconsistencies that aren’t
explained once the “bad guy” is revealed. The reveal is a bit obnoxious
at first, with people yelling about the bad guys but they’re freaked
and it actually works. Distracting at first as the Doctor’s telling
everyone to be quiet but then again, no one ever is when he tells them
that. There is almost always a classic Jurassik Park: Lost World
moment, the best part of the movie: “Ooooh. Ahhh. That’s how it
always starts. Then later there’s the running and screaming.”